Contents

Introduction

NMO Certification and Testing Services, which is part of the Office for Product Safety & Standards, operates under the Secretary of State for the calibration of weighing and measuring instruments, and provides certification of calibration to section 4 and 6 of the Weights and Measures Act 1985.

NMO supports local authorities through section 4 of the Weights and Measures Act 1985, enabling them to ensure consumers and trade are operating within the required specifications.

The NMO calibration team offers an outstanding calibration service in the areas of mass, length and volume, all of which are accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) to the highest globally recognised levels. As well as this we offer a measurement consultancy service and supply of standards in all related areas.

Head of Technical Services

Reasons to use NMO calibration services

accredited by UKAS

fast turnaround (average 5 working days)

unrivalled expertise

impartial advice

specialist equipment

Measurements of mass, length and volume are widely used as reference standards throughout industry to ensure they are correct and accurate. In order to comply with the quality assurance criteria laid down in the ISO 9000 series, measures must be calibrated to demonstrate traceability to national and international standards. NMO will calibrate your measures in our purpose-built laboratories offering the highest quality service at competitive prices. We can calibrate masses that conform to International Organization of Legal Metrology(OIML) Recommendation R 111. It describes the metrological aspects of reference standard weights with recommendations for seven classes of weights - from high quality reference standards at Class E1 to those used in industrial settings at Class M3.

Mass

Our mass calibration service has been accredited by UKAS for weights over a very broad range from 0.05 milligram to 1000 kg. We can calibrate to levels better than E1 for 0.05 mg to 50 kg, F1 (1 ppm) or better up to 250 kg and F2 (3 ppm) up to 1000 kg. We can supply (sometimes from stock) and calibrate mass standards of solid stainless steel as well as other materials (cast iron etc) up to 1 tonne to a standard design or to your own specification.

Manufacture and calibration of solid stainless steel standards of mass can be undertaken up to 1 tonne with the weights being made to a standard design or to your own specification. We can supply a wide range of weights from a variety of manufacturers from stock.

Length

Our length calibration service has been accredited through UKAS for measures up to 50 metres using our 50 metre tape bench - the longest in the UK. Measurements can also be made for longer lengths based on multiples of 50 metres. Our computer-based LASER interferometer system ensures the highest accuracy and confidence. Flexible line standards up to 50 m long can be calibrated with uncertainties of (10 + 0.6 L) micrometres, the best in the UK and one of the best in the world. Rigid line standards up to 2.3 m long can be calibrated with uncertainties of (1 + 1 L) micrometres. We can also supply a wide range of length standards from a variety of manufacturers.

Length calibration

NMO maintains world-class laser-based length calibration benches which are housed in purpose-built laboratories. Our facilities are based on Hewlett-Packard helium-neon laser interferometers and custom-built track and carriage systems. This service has full UKAS accreditation for the calibration of line standards and measures up to 50 metres and above in 50 m multiples from the lowest to the highest quality.

Volume

Volume measures are widely used as reference standards throughout industry, for example in medical, pharmaceutical and petro-chemical industries. Our calibration service has been accredited through UKAS to cover ranges of 1 ml to 20 litres for glassware and 1 litre to 500 litres for metal measures. For calibrations of larger vessels i.e. up to many thousands of litres, we offer an on-site calibration service.

Volume calibration

NMO has the capability to calibrate vessels from micro-pipettes dispensing a few microlitres to proving tanks which are large volumetric standards with capacities of several thousand litres. UKAS accreditation is held for the gravimetric (inferring the volume from the weight of a liquid discharged or contained) calibration of metal measures, both content and delivery over the range 1 to 500 litres with a best measurement capability of 0.008% of volume. Our UKAS accredited calibration for glassware covers 1 ml to 20 litres. We have the capability to calibrate volumetrically, by discharge of a transfer liquid from a delivery vessel content vessels, ranging from small laboratory glassware to large proving tanks containing thousands of litres. Calibration of large vessels is usually carried out in-situ.

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